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My band last practiced a week ago. After playing we hung out for a
while watching our other guitar player's recently purchased Japanese
monster movie. After watching for a while I commented "good thing this
is subtitled, I can't follow a thing anyone is saying" the rest of the
band said "I thought it was just me." We discussed it for a while & we
all agreed that we had been playing QUIETER then we normally do that
night (I had actualy made a point to turn down the volume before we
started playing.)
Well it is a week later and my ears are still going squee. I've been
really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by now,
right? I checked around and these...
were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
What?!
Z
For earplugs, I just use Kleenex.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Zone Fighter
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 9:31 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Hearing Protection?
My band last practiced a week ago. After playing we hung out for a
while watching our other guitar player's recently purchased Japanese
monster movie. After watching for a while I commented "good thing this
is subtitled, I can't follow a thing anyone is saying" the rest of the
band said "I thought it was just me." We discussed it for a while & we
all agreed that we had been playing QUIETER then we normally do that
night (I had actualy made a point to turn down the volume before we
started playing.)
Well it is a week later and my ears are still going squee. I've been
really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by now,
right? I checked around and these...
were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
What?!
Z
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
When I had one ear ring on me for 2 weeks and I thought it was gone, I caved
in and got a custom made set, the kind reccomended here:
It will cost you close to $180, but it is well worth it. Hans, my bandmate,
also uses them now. Ear fatigue is down, and I don't have ringing in my ears
anymore.
We both use the -15db filters, as the -25db filters out too much.
BTW - I only wear them for practice or when I go to see other bands. When I
play a gig I take them out, because it's much more fun to play without them.
One added bonus of using earplugs, is that you usually hear all the little
mistakes, and the music doesn't sound as energetic, so you have to improve
your playing.
I suggest you try the ear plugs you mentioned, and if you don't like them,
bite the bullet and get the expensive ones.
Marty's suggestion was entertaining, but toilet paper is not really ear
protection.
Keep you ears healthy,
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zone Fighter" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 9:31 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Hearing Protection?
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
No really, I wasn't making the joke. Tissue does the trick. Your ears will not
ring.
-Marty
...Marty's suggestion was entertaining, but toilet paper is not really ear
protection.
Keep you ears healthy,
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zone Fighter" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 9:31 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Hearing Protection?
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Has anyone here used the those in-ear monitors that look like hearing aids? It
seems that they could be good or bad as hearing protection. They would be good
if they effectively reduce the onstage loudness and bring you the desired mix of
your band at a lower volume. They would be bad if they are turned up as most
often headphones are. In fact, I wonder if they get turned up souder as a result
of the surrounding noise.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Marty Tippens
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 11:37 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Hearing Protection?
No really, I wasn't making the joke. Tissue does the trick. Your ears will
not ring.
-Marty
...Marty's suggestion was entertaining, but toilet paper is not really ear
protection.
Keep you ears healthy,
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zone Fighter" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 9:31 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Hearing Protection?
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Those in-ear montior block out stage noise. Much easier on the ears.
--- In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> Has anyone here used the those in-ear monitors that look like
hearing aids? It seems that they could be good or bad as hearing
protection. They would be good if they effectively reduce the onstage
loudness and bring you the desired mix of your band at a lower volume.
They would be bad if they are turned up as most often headphones are.
In fact, I wonder if they get turned up souder as a result of the
surrounding noise.
try to dampen your rehearsal room (curtains / carpet on the walls) as
much as possible to get the drum volume down, and keep your amp
volumes down. what happens is with loudness the background noise
increases, everybody can hear themselves less good and keep turning
their volumes up, and so on... I've found that a lot of times, when
you all turn down, the sound gets better for everyone. But - as
always ;-) - it's the drummer that ruins everything.
Man, keep out the buzz, you've only got one ears right? (hm, that
somehow did't come out right)
wannes - wondering whether a dobro would make a surfable accoustic...
What? Sorry...
For watching gigs I used a set of "Hearos" which you can get for about $10
at Musicians Friend. I used the 9 dB set. Works great at shows. If I was a
gigging musician I would probably follow Ran's advice and get the kind
fitted to your ears.
BN
PS Hi Ran! Say hi to Dale from us.
Those in-ear monitors seem like a great idea but are probably a pain to set up.
I'm sure that most club sound dudes don't know how to deal with 'em yet.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: jacobdobner
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 12:51 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Hearing Protection?
Those in-ear montior block out stage noise. Much easier on the ears.
--- In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> Has anyone here used the those in-ear monitors that look like
hearing aids? It seems that they could be good or bad as hearing
protection. They would be good if they effectively reduce the onstage
loudness and bring you the desired mix of your band at a lower volume.
They would be bad if they are turned up as most often headphones are.
In fact, I wonder if they get turned up souder as a result of the
surrounding noise.
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
That will lessen the ability for sound to deflect. Carpet is good, but I
hear cork works great. I don't know where you get it, though. When I
was a teenager, we had a friend that carpeted his garage and corked the
walls. It worked great and the neighbors complained less too!
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 20:22:43 -0000 "mono_tones_1" <>
writes:
>
>
> try to dampen your rehearsal room (curtains / carpet on the walls)
> as
> much as possible to get the drum volume down, and keep your amp
> volumes down. what happens is with loudness the background noise
> increases, everybody can hear themselves less good and keep turning
>
> their volumes up, and so on... I've found that a lot of times, when
>
> you all turn down, the sound gets better for everyone. But - as
> always ;-) - it's the drummer that ruins everything.
>
> Man, keep out the buzz, you've only got one ears right? (hm, that
> somehow did't come out right)
>
> wannes - wondering whether a dobro would make a surfable
> accoustic...
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
My plugs are similar to Ran's. I use the -25db ones, and don't have
a problem with the extra filtering. The slight loss of dynamic
range doesn't bother me. USK aren't a very loud band on stage, but
I do wanna hear for a long time! It's worth the bucks.
USK's drummer and bass player use the foam earplugs you can buy at
the drug store for a couple of bucks.
Mike
--- In , Zone Fighter
<zonefighter@g...> wrote:
> really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
> understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
> think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
>
It's very scary. I'm not trying to sound like a jackass, but it's
good that it scared you, because hopefully you'll wear the plugs
now. Someone mentioned tissue as plugs, this is effective for low
volumes (volumes that you can hear yourself talking over), but
tissue doesn't attenuate the levels enough.
Take it from someone who is suffering to this day because of
playing almost daily with the amp cranked, $3 is worth a set of
earplugs. Go for foam, avoid the reusable plastic plugs with fins
on them. Foam usually has better attenuation. They're harder to use
but it's worth it. I went the extra mile and also purchased a
decibel meter from Radio Shack for about $30 to measure the levels
occasionally during some practices.
When you go to the drugstore look for the foam earplugs with the
highest dB (decibel) rating. Though the higer dB rating is _NOT_ an
indicator that the plug is better, it usually is better.
If your band has a loud bottom end, then you may want to invest in
custom earplugs, or custom earplugs with built in monitors. (Store
bought plugs don't have a high attenuation rate in the bottom and
high ends). These are nice because you can adjust them to the level
you're comfortable with, and at the same time block most harmfull
noise. You can't block all harmfull noise, as noise also travels
through your skull, nose, mouth etc. but as long as you're not
kneeling down infront of a cranked amp you should be OK.
Lastly, you're not uncool or whatever for wearing plugs...
if you don't wear them when you need them, that's not cool...
you are only hurting yourself!
Wear the plugs & rock on!
DO NOT--- I REPEAT DO NOT --- expose yourself to any further loud
sound until you get REAL HEARING PROTECTION. The ringing is the last
warning you're going to get.
After a particularly loud Bomboras concert in '97, my ears rang 24/7
for three solid months and I thought I was gonna have to live with
it, Pete Townshend-style, for the rest of my life. One day I noticed
that I hadn't heard the ringing and realized I had dodged a bullet by
a hair. I knew there wouldn't be a second chance and went and got
the Etymotics at my local University's Speech & Language clinic for
$150. I have used them religiously since then and they are the
single most important piece of musical equipment I own. They are the
one piece of equipment I WILL NOT GIG WITHOUT and I cannot recommend
them highly enough. They are custom molded to your ear canal shape
by an audiologist and are the only way to reduce the volume while
preserving true frequency response. That's what gives you real
protection, because you'll ACTUALLY WEAR THEM. The generic store-
bought plugs, foamies or the trick ones, are worthless because they
muffle the sound so badly that you inevitably pull them out and
expose yourself to the volume anyway. I know, I tried them all.
I have measured sound levels of 125 db in rehearsal rooms, let alone
what we get on stages. It is ear suicide to expose your ears to that
abuse. I hope your ringing stops, or at least reduces to an
unnoticeable low level, like mine did. But once you get that warning
sign, it's just a matter of time before you have a permanent problem
for which there is no cure. Get the Etymotic plugs (or equivalent)
before you spend another dime on equipment.
Any audiologist can set you up; in the LA area, I can recommend the
Speech & Language Clinic at Cal State University, Northridge. Most
schools have a department like this. Ask to get fitted
for "musician's earplugs" and they'll know what you're talking about.
Rob Woolsey
Detonators
--- In , Zone Fighter <zonefighter@g...>
wrote:
> My band last practiced a week ago. After playing we hung out for a
> while watching our other guitar player's recently purchased Japanese
> monster movie. After watching for a while I commented "good thing
this
> is subtitled, I can't follow a thing anyone is saying" the rest of
the
> band said "I thought it was just me." We discussed it for a while &
we
> all agreed that we had been playing QUIETER then we normally do that
> night (I had actualy made a point to turn down the volume before we
> started playing.)
>
> Well it is a week later and my ears are still going squee. I've been
> really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
> understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
> think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by
now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
Aha,
A number of you don't think tissue is the way to go ay? Well it turns out you're
right, I shouldn't have been promoting that idear. In searching for info to
support my case, I only found info to the contrary and that confirms what many
of you have said: Tissue and cotton ain't enough. There's a number of good
websites on the subject. doesn't seem to be
selling anything and has lottsa details on the workings of the ear and what's
good for protection.
So if you still have your hearing, don't listen to me!
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: avid
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 10:15 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Hearing Protection?
--- In , Zone Fighter
<zonefighter@g...> wrote:
> really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
> understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
> think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
>
It's very scary. I'm not trying to sound like a jackass, but it's
good that it scared you, because hopefully you'll wear the plugs
now. Someone mentioned tissue as plugs, this is effective for low
volumes (volumes that you can hear yourself talking over), but
tissue doesn't attenuate the levels enough.
Take it from someone who is suffering to this day because of
playing almost daily with the amp cranked, $3 is worth a set of
earplugs. Go for foam, avoid the reusable plastic plugs with fins
on them. Foam usually has better attenuation. They're harder to use
but it's worth it. I went the extra mile and also purchased a
decibel meter from Radio Shack for about $30 to measure the levels
occasionally during some practices.
When you go to the drugstore look for the foam earplugs with the
highest dB (decibel) rating. Though the higer dB rating is _NOT_ an
indicator that the plug is better, it usually is better.
If your band has a loud bottom end, then you may want to invest in
custom earplugs, or custom earplugs with built in monitors. (Store
bought plugs don't have a high attenuation rate in the bottom and
high ends). These are nice because you can adjust them to the level
you're comfortable with, and at the same time block most harmfull
noise. You can't block all harmfull noise, as noise also travels
through your skull, nose, mouth etc. but as long as you're not
kneeling down infront of a cranked amp you should be OK.
Lastly, you're not uncool or whatever for wearing plugs...
if you don't wear them when you need them, that's not cool...
you are only hurting yourself!
Wear the plugs & rock on!
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I have the Etymotic ER4 earphones, and they are really
good. They block external noise by 32db, or 40db using
the foam instead of rubber attachments. You can listen
to music with the volume turned down, and have great
audiophile quality, or crank it with mucho volume if
you desire. I think they will be great for doing loud
guitar overdubs while playing in the same room as the
amp. , which always sounds better. I remember trying
to track guitar for the first Slacktone album standing
in front of five amps, blowing my ears out with
headphones on TEN. I got through several songs, and
then called it quits on that techniqe, and returned to
the control room. I use the yellow foam at work where
there are about 15 guitar players + machines going
at the same time.
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
Not that I use them hardly at all, but....
I really like the "Sonic" shooting ear plugs
They cut by 9 db's I believe, and the have a "Sonic 2"
that is 15 or 25db's
What's cool about them is the diaphram design.
It's open while it's quiet, and you can hear almost normally.
But when the db's and sound pressure levels go up, the diaphram
closes.
They are good for talking with them in, for hearing the full
range of music through. I've noticed alot of ear plugs block the
mids and highs. But these sound really clear, just reduce the levels,
without making the sound muddy or bottom heavy.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
probably pick them up at any sportinggoods dept. that has guns.
- In , dave wronski <stickmandw@y...>
wrote:
> I have the Etymotic ER4 earphones, and they are really
> good. They block external noise by 32db, or 40db using
> the foam instead of rubber attachments. You can listen
> to music with the volume turned down, and have great
> audiophile quality, or crank it with mucho volume if
> you desire. I think they will be great for doing loud
> guitar overdubs while playing in the same room as the
> amp. , which always sounds better. I remember trying
> to track guitar for the first Slacktone album standing
> in front of five amps, blowing my ears out with
> headphones on TEN. I got through several songs, and
> then called it quits on that techniqe, and returned to
> the control room. I use the yellow foam at work where
> there are about 15 guitar players + machines going
> at the same time.
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
>
All true. We chose velvet curtains because I happen to live across a
recycle-store and they have 'em for next to nothing. All other
options are expensive. .. although, supposedly there is a company in
the netherlands that decorates sport-halls and so for fairs; after
the fair the throw everything out and you can pick up *miles* of
(short but intensly used) carpet for free. the guys we took over the
rehearsal room from said they got the carpet that way.
nicest option is a special kind of paint they make that looks just
like regular paint, but it has the capacity to absorb soundwaves to
the extreme - music halls use it sometimes. it looks the best and is
fire-safe. unfortunatly, if you buy it privatly it's about $50 a
square yard here.
cork also is rather expensive.
anyway, my point was that getting the volume down is the best hearing
protection.
wannes
--- In , Kristena Hernandez
<tikimania@j...> wrote:
> That will lessen the ability for sound to deflect. Carpet is good,
but I
> hear cork works great. I don't know where you get it, though.
When I
> was a teenager, we had a friend that carpeted his garage and corked
the
> walls. It worked great and the neighbors complained less too!
>
> On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 20:22:43 -0000 "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...>
> writes:
> >
> >
> > try to dampen your rehearsal room (curtains / carpet on the
walls)
> > as
> > much as possible to get the drum volume down, and keep your amp
> > volumes down. what happens is with loudness the background noise
> > increases, everybody can hear themselves less good and keep
turning
> >
> > their volumes up, and so on... I've found that a lot of times,
when
> >
> > you all turn down, the sound gets better for everyone. But - as
> > always ;-) - it's the drummer that ruins everything.
> >
> > Man, keep out the buzz, you've only got one ears right? (hm, that
> > somehow did't come out right)
> >
> > wannes - wondering whether a dobro would make a surfable
> > accoustic...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> > --------------------~-->
> > $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------
--~->
>
> >
> >
> > .
> > Visit for archived
> > messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
Hi, Martin from THe RAZORBLADES. I use Hearsafe earplugs, they´re
specially designed for my ears and you can put 9 dB, 15 dB or 25 dB
filters in it. we´re a loud band and I use them live and during
rehearesals for years and I don´t have any problems with my ears till
now. They´re also good in the studio used in combination with loud
amps and loud headphones. They seem to block a lot of the unwanted
noises, bassy frequencies, a lot of the crashing sounds. I recommend
them.--- In , Zone Fighter
<zonefighter@g...> wrote:
> My band last practiced a week ago. After playing we hung out for a
> while watching our other guitar player's recently purchased Japanese
> monster movie. After watching for a while I commented "good thing
this
> is subtitled, I can't follow a thing anyone is saying" the rest of
the
> band said "I thought it was just me." We discussed it for a while &
we
> all agreed that we had been playing QUIETER then we normally do that
> night (I had actualy made a point to turn down the volume before we
> started playing.)
>
> Well it is a week later and my ears are still going squee. I've been
> really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
> understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
> think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by
now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
on Sat, 30 Oct 2004 17:37:56 -0700
Kristena Hernandez <>wrote:
<SNIP>
I hear cork works great. I don't know where you get it, though.
<SNIP>
Cork Sheet, 12" x 36" x 1/16" thick, $3.00/each
(that's a buck a square foot)
p/n 27593
American Science & Surplus
1.847.647.0011
It's thin, but if you glued to something soft and resilient,
(styrofoam insulating board, perhaps?), you could make
removeable panels and situate them according to need.
(I'm thinking sound buffer walls around the drummer)
I am not affiliated with, nor have I any interests in the
above mentioned company.
All disclaimers apply.
I'm Bill, and I approve of this message.
:)
The sound board they sell at Home Depot works pretty good and is easy on the
wallet. About 8 bucks for a 4'x 8'x 1/2" sheet.
Belive it or not, egg crates don't work too bad either.
B-B-O
>
> From:
> Date: 2004/11/02 Tue PM 08:48:35 EST
> To:
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Hearing Protection?
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
